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The Colonie’s Ackerman edits comic beer spot

By Mike Morgan
Jul 22, 2016

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For VSA Partners’ client, Blue Point Brewing Company of Patchogue, N.Y., The Colonie’s Bob Ackerman and his team edited a comedic 1:30 media spot — “Patchogue’s Got It All” — an offbeat approach to introduce the premium craft beer.

The spot was directed by New York-based Brian Billow of O Positive, who had been formerly been a DDB Chicago ACD/art director. It features a local townsperson who takes viewers on a tour of town’s commonplace sights that also show how the character of the craft beer brand has been shaped by its deep roots in the simple, weathered Long Island town.

“VSA Partners’ CDs Tim White and Josh Witherspoon brought us an unconventional concept that took a fresh, off-beat approach,” says Ackerman. “From the get-go, the agency was committed to making this spot into something unique” — and did.

Shot on location in Patchogue over two days, Ackerman and assistant editor Graham Chapman flew to New York to work with Billow and edit footage as it arrived. “We worked well into the night at our hotel to ensure we’d meet the two week deadline we’d been given,” Ackerman says.

Back in Chicago, The Colonie’s senior designer Jennifer Moody and VFX supervisor Tom Dernulc worked in tandem with the editors, tackling a considerable amount of digital enhancements while the creative cut was still evolving.

“Given the fact that the Blue Point’s Toasted Lager name is never said aloud, the style of the spot could almost be described as the antithesis of the traditional beer commercial, which usually showcases the lager front and center,” says Ackerman.

“It’s this play against expectations that makes VSA Partners’ spot so innovative, captivating, effective and funny.”